Your feelings towards the mentally ill...

**hockyfan** · 03-31-2002, 04:35 PM

This is a very touchy subject, and i will be watching this thread closely, so it does not get out of hand, please no offending anyone.

I'd like to know your opinions on how you feel towards the mentally ill. I for one, feel very bad, and i realize anyone can be affected, through a relative, friend, or child. I must admit though, i do not feel the same way towards them as other people i know do. I see friends of mine able to hug them, kiss them, etc. but for a reason beyond my control, i just don't feel that "connection".

I'm not sure what the feeling is, maybe it's intimidation of a sort, thinking they're different, but on the other hand, everyone's different in one way or another. I do care for them, and am frequently involved in helping out mentally ill, or physically/mentally disabled, yet i realize i just don't have the same bond as other people; is this bond just something you're born with?

Please post any non-critical or non-degrading opinions related to this subject in a mature manner, and please take note that some people know others in these conditions, and are sensitive, so please don't offend them. thank you

[Edited by hockyfan on 03-31-2002 at 03:37 PM]

**SeaWolf** · 03-31-2002, 05:16 PM

I do not know anybody that is mentally handicap but maybe I can shed some light on the subject anyways.
Myself, I am very good with kids. I am a Daycare provider and I have three kids of my own. I have coached my son's baseball for the last three years and will be coaching my daugter's t-ball this year. On the other hand I usually cannot strike a conversation with an adult that easily. My best friend is the opposite. I think it is just what you feel comfortable with.

**hockyfan** · 03-31-2002, 05:19 PM

yeah, i'm good with kids too, and like being around them. But for some reason, when it comes to mentally ill, i feel a barrier between me and them, like I don't have that connection.

Does anyone else feel this way? Or does anyone feel differently?

**DeeDesigns** · 03-31-2002, 05:40 PM

it all depends, some i get on with some i cant

i have friends that have been sectioned, i have known a few schizophrenics, i dont think that i look at them differently or treat them differently, one of the schizophrenics i knew killed himself shortly after leaving uni, but through out uni he had loads of friends, even though he'd do some pretty mad things most people were understanding, and if ever got out of hand we'd arrange to have him visit the mental hospital or a psychiatric nurse come and see him.
Most often or not he wouldnt take his mediation and aggravate his condition with various illegal drugs

i do get really peed off with manic depressives and bipolar disorder suffers.
I really feel like kicking someone of them in the arse, i dont want to listen to how sh*t ur life is when its not that bad otherwise, sometime i am really harsh when it comes to them because when they go on moaning about the situation, when its a black&white solution which they refuse to do, solving one problem at time usually improves the situation. And when they dont take your advice or suggestions its p**ses me off

(sorry for ranting & raving, having studied psychiatry somethings are simple to solve)

**david petley** · 03-31-2002, 05:46 PM

hf,
tough question, some people who do not fit the 'norm' in terms of what we (society) consider to be 'sane' get our pity, others fear, because their responses cannot be predicted based on our ideas of how society works.

We are all afraid of being out of touch with the 'normal' perceived reality and that makes us fear those who we see as being in that state.

i had a friend was a manic depressive and need medication most of his relatively short life (he suicided some years ago), and what made him angry was being treated as a pariah, an untouchable, someone to avoid. Instead of someone who had a chemical inbalance in his head that could be controlled using medication.

david p.

**hockyfan** · 03-31-2002, 05:50 PM

i know what you mean dp...

But, maybe i wasn't as clear in the initial question, but, i was also including individuals who have disabilities/diseases, that hamper their abilites to act like "normal" people. They need special care, etc. people with disease such as down syndrome, and similar diseases. I see people who can just be with them all day, play with them, and occupy them, but i just don't have that "spark". I'm not suggesting i'm a cold person or anything like that, but i just don't feel the same towards them, yet i don't think it's something i really choose to do.

**onlinegs.com** · 03-31-2002, 06:10 PM

I am like you HF, I will help out the mentally/physicall ill. I feel sorry, and I am alwasy willing to help them...but I can't really see my self hugging one of them, or spending days on end with them. I don't know what it is either.

**SeaWolf** · 03-31-2002, 06:17 PM

I think that if it is bothering you then maybe you should take some action. Just like anything else, most of us are not born with a natural ability to be the best at anything but yet most try to achieve some type of accomplishment in those things we like but are just not good at (golf for me.) So if your concerned why don't you volunteer at some kind of event, like the special olympics or something. Watch what other people do and try to postulate some kind of idea of approaching the situation from what you learn.

**hockyfan** · 03-31-2002, 06:20 PM

SeaWolf--
I've done similar events, and have observed others. Yet I don't know how they do it, i just feel weird giving these children hugs, and spending so much time with them--i just find it hard. Other people who i've seen just do it, like it's not even a second thought for them. For me, i just feel akward doing, or rather, attempting to do it.

**LanSite** · 04-01-2002, 12:21 AM

Hockyfan, did you see 'A Beautiful Mind' recently?

Mentally ill ... who isn't ... to some degree, anyway ?

**]v[orpheus** · 04-01-2002, 12:27 AM

My grandmother had a stroke recently and was put in the mental health unit which I thought was strange.

When I went to visit, it was OK. There's a some interaction between the patients. Some just keep to themselves. They're free to walk around the place, watch TV.

The mentally ill are often portrayed wrong in movies and I'm not talking about A Beautiful Mind. In some movies, they're just viewed as a time bomb about to go off any second.

**LanSite** · 04-01-2002, 12:44 AM

Originally posted by Canadaherp
shes really good to pick up girls at the mall with tho!!

Goodness gravy ... Did you really just say that?

**HeatherM** · 04-01-2002, 01:01 AM

Originally posted by Canadaherp
shes still what everyone likes to call cute... os theres a VERY good use there.. lol she just learnt she can hurt us by biting/pinching/scratching. but lol ya i do use her for that once in a while hehe lol she gets fresh air, peopel learn more aobut her condition and i get rewards for it!

That is one of the most offensive things I've read in a long time....people like you make me sad

**StanThaFan** · 04-01-2002, 01:03 AM

Honestly, I try to steer away from them. It's not that I don't like them, it's just that I'm a very emotional person and seein someone with a mental handicap just gets to me. It's too sad for me. I smile at them and if I ever see someone that needs help, I don't hesitate. One thing that gets to me more than anything though is when I see someone poking fun at someone with a mental handicap, or someone in a wheel chair, or old people, or ANYONE with a disability (not saying being old is a disability by any means, but it gets to me the same way when I see someone making fun of one). God that pisses me off more than you know.. :-|

**jman5** · 04-01-2002, 03:11 AM

People with handicaps are cool

They are fun to be around. Wheelchairs are coolness. I remember when the handicaps came to our school for a wheelchair basketball assembly. It was great

**aabirnisar** · 04-01-2002, 03:41 AM

seen "man on the moon"
a great example of mently ill .

**Fruitloops** · 04-01-2002, 04:29 AM

Originally posted by aabirnisar
seen "man on the moon"
a great example of mently ill .

Oh you did NOT just say that!

And to go with the subject of this thread, the feeling towards myself would be... hmmm... disspointment.
[Edited by Fruitloops on 04-01-2002 at 03:32 AM]

**aabirnisar** · 04-01-2002, 07:14 AM

jim carrey playing mentally ill

**Canadaherp** · 04-01-2002, 01:44 PM

Originally posted by jman5
People with handicaps are cool They are fun to be around. Wheelchairs are coolness. I remember when the handicaps came to our school for a wheelchair basketball assembly. It was great

I have a few friends in wheelchairs for various reasons.. aLL of them are cool!!

**jman5** · 04-01-2002, 01:59 PM

You should see em play basketball! Them mofo's are good! Kick'n all the normal peoples butts!

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